United States v. Bass, 536 U.S. 862 (2002) (per curiam)

on petition for writ of certiorari to the united
states court of appeals for the sixth circuit

No. 01-1471. Decided June 28, 2002

Claiming that the United States filed a notice of intent to seek the death
penalty in respondent's capital murder case because of his race, respondent moved to dismiss the notice and, in the alternative, for discovery of
information relating to the Government's capital charging practices.
The District Court granted his discovery motion and dismissed the notice after the Government said that it would not comply with the discovery order. The Sixth Circuit affirmed.

Held: The Sixth Circuit's decision is contrary to United States v. Armstrong, 517 U. S. 456, 465, in which this Court held that a defendant
seeking discovery on a selective prosecution claim must show some evidence of both discriminatory effect and discriminatory intent. As to
evidence of discriminatory effect, a defendant must make a credible
showing that similarly situated individuals of a different race were not
prosecuted. Id., at 465, 470. The Sixth Circuit concluded that respondent had made such a showing based on nationwide statistics demonstrating that the Government charges blacks with a death-eligible
offense more than twice as often as it charges whites and that it enters
into plea bargains more frequently with whites than with blacks. Even
assuming that a nationwide showing can satisfy the Armstrong requirement, raw statistics regarding overall charges say nothing about
charges brought against similarly situated defendants. And the plea
bargain statistics are even less relevant, since respondent declined the
plea bargain offered him.

Certiorari granted; 266 F. 3d 532, reversed.

Per Curiam.

A federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of
Michigan returned a second superseding indictment charging
respondent with, inter alia, the intentional firearm killings
of two individuals. The United States filed a notice of intent
to seek the death penalty. Respondent, who is black, alleged that the Government had determined to seek the death
penalty against him because of his race. He moved to dis-